- By Chukwuemerie Uduchukwu
Anambra State Governor Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo for a second time in a few days, put social media on fire with a long detailed article on his stand on the presidential ambition of Peter Obi, the chances of ndị Igbo in National Politics and crazy activities of social media bandits. In the article, Soludo clearly stated that Peter Obi is in a wild goose chase and that he knows that he is going nowhere. Soludo’s article is a comprehensive response to reactions by Peter Obi’s team of supporters who were obviously dancing to music played by the Labour Party Presidential Candidate. Recall that recently during an interview on Channels Television’s flagship programme “Politics Today”, Soludo made it clear that the purported investment Peter Obi made in his company with tax payers money worth next to nothing. The governor also condemned the administrative recklessness that Obi supervised and maintained that it is crazy for a governor to divert taxpayers money to invest in a company he has a personal interest in at a time when many classrooms were in very bad condition and when many citizens were in hospitals without proper medical care provided. After Soludo’s interview on Channels, Peter Obi in his usual style, commissioned his battalion of social media warriors to launch a humiliating attack on him. The attacks also came with threats which the governor confirmed in his article titled “History beckons and I will not be silent Part 1”.
In his article, Soludo maintained that he cannot be cowed or bullied by some charlatans. He further made it clear that only two political parties are in the 2023 Nigerian Presidential Race and that other parties are just merely exercising their franchise. The governor further said that the Candidate of Labour Party for the election Mr. Peter Obi who is also onye Anambra is not going anywhere and that he knows he is not going anywhere but decided to play a game that is well known. Soludo also wondered why Obi abandoned the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) which is the ruling party in his home state Anambra and preferred to run on a platform of Labour Party (LP), a political party that is neither here nor there especially when he knows that he is going nowhere. The governor further revealed that even though APGA which is his party has a Candidate in the election, it is clear it has no chances of winning. Soludo’s line of thought is aimed at promoting APGA which is a major regional party in Alaigbo to a full national party because if Obi preferred APGA to LP, it will create a room for more efficient negotiations of Igbos’ interests at the center considering the fact that APGA already has a sitting governor, state and federal legislators.
Soludo’s line of thought is understandable and no Igbo man who truly wants to promote the collective interests of ndị Igbo at the center will oppose it. It is a fact that ndị Igbo lack the political strength and numbers to influence their way into Aso Rock and it is very unfortunate that over the years, ndị Igbo always repeat the fatal mistake of doing arrogant politics. The level of insults, name-calling, and verbal abuses dished out to compatriots that have the biggest political muscle in the country shouldn’t be expected from a region that is anxious of occupying the nation’s most powerful office. It is also sad that the South East is yet to understand that until the region is able to show other regions that they are ready and willing to work with them, no Igbo man can win a Presidential Primary Election of a major party not to talk of winning a presidential election because we lack the numbers and political strength. This is why I laughed out loud when some of my brothers were lambasting the main Opposition Paty, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for shifting the goalpost in the middle of the game. I understood clearly that the PDP is quite aware that it will head to nowhere if it fields an Igbo man as its presidential candidate. In fact if that happened, the party will be defeated even before voting is concluded in all parts of the country. No major party shall risk fielding a Candidate that hails from a region that sees themselves as the only qualified people and regards others as illiterates who only know how to rear cattle. You can’t be calling fellow compatriots names like cows, illiterates and even terrorists online and expect a major party to risk losing election and nominate you as its Candidate, doing such will automatically cancel the votes such party should get from the insulted region(s).
It is very sad that the South East, a region filled with many learned and exposed citizens is so myopic politically and delights in committing same blunder each election season. The needless hate ndị Igbo have for other compatriots made them to keep supporting the PDP in presidential elections despite the fact that there is no tangible project executed in the region by the party despite being in power for sixteen uninterrupted years. The worst blunder was committed in 2015 when ndị Igbo had more reasons and better chance to leave PDP and join the national train but instead to doing the needful, ụmụ Igbo chose to remain in the camp of lies and self-deceit by massively supporting PDP for only one reason being that Buhari who was contesting on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is a Fulani man. Many Igbo leaders including Peter Obi championed a very suicidal propaganda against Buhari and APC, the self-destructive propaganda machine described Buhari as illiterate, a General without a certificate, brain dead, terrorist and arch enemy of the Igbo race that would islamize Nigeria if given power. They even earlier rebranded former President Jonathan with a new name “Azikiwe” to deceive many that the Otuoke man is son of the soil. They all did these in spite of the fact that Jonathan’s projects in Alaigbo were near to Zero especially after he upgraded the Enugu Airport to a glorified secondary school and showed no political will to construct the Ziks Mausoleum and Second Niger Bridge.
In advancement of their needless hate for other compatriots, ndị Igbo refused to appreciate the present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari on his interventions in Igbo land. The social media warriors rubbished the Second Nigeria Bridge Construction which Buhari started with a claim that it is ndị Igbo that will fully pay for the project because a “Tollgate” was provided on it. What a dumb reasoning! Thank God the bridge is near completion and at least, the shallow minded compatriots rubbishing the project will drive through it or maybe, they will ‘cancel’ the project online.
There is no reason why ndị Igbo should keep marginalizing themselves in National Politics. One major thing my brothers refused to learn from the APC Presidential Candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu (may be due to their needless hate) is that you can’t make something from nothing. Tinubu fully upgraded his region into a national stakeholder by consistently standing wifh the Action for Democracy (AD) despite all temptations and threats from the center. He never abandoned the party which was a regional party (South West) to join another party but he continued to support members of the party to contest elective positions even after it was reformed and addressed as Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) Action Congress (AC) and All Progressives Congress (APC). Tinubu never wanted to be king of Yoruba or Nigerian Politics overnight, he worked for years by building bridges across the country. He never underrated any tribe and in fact, he appointed some Igbos into the decision-making wing of his camp and party. He continued to exhibit humility and showed love to all irrespective of their ethnicity or religious affiliation.
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If Peter Obi really meant well for ndị Igbo, he would have either remained in PDP and get a major stake on behalf of ndị Igbo there, joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and supported the grassroots development of the party in Alaigbo which if done, will bring the baseless sentiments against the party in the South East to an end and consequently, initiate the region into national politics, returned to APGA which is presently the ruling party in his home state Anambra and help promote the party fully in the South East and subsequently, initiate it into national politics or join the Young Progressives Party (YPP) which is another political party that is in possession of an elected public official and promote it to the level that it will fully become a national asset. If Obi has done any of the aforementioned facts, it would have strengthened the power negotiation capability of the race at the center. It is very unfortunate that instead of doing the needful, Obi preferred to run on the platform of a political party that has no grassroots base or elected official and that is a clear confirmation that he is not truly contesting but playing a game that will increase media attention on him, create more sentiments against notable parties, especially the PDP in the South East and make many of his supporters waste their votes. Even though it is true that Obi’s ambition which is nothing but a comedy show is an indirect blessing to APC because votes of the main Opposition PDP which had the South East in the bag will likely be divided in the region since he is from the region and will be on the ballot, the manner in which he chose to play his comic show will harm the political future of ndị Igbo the more. His ambition has opened more channels for online charlatans to further insult other compatriots and anyone who refused to join the bandwagon. This must not be encouraged!.
After Soludo released the first part of his article, Peter Obi in his reaction urged Soludo to continue from where he stopped because that’s how government should be. He also acknowledged that he left classrooms without roofs and that Soludo is brighter than him. The sudden exhibition of humility by Obi shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that he is a gentleman or a mature leader. This is because it has always been his style to publicly pretend to be a Saint and act like a dragon in the background. Peter Obi is a politician that can apologise openly and go behind and recharge his propaganda machine to launch more attacks and that has been confirmed with responses from his campaign Director General, his campaign team, support groups and his anonymous handwriting. Governor Soludo should in the interest of ndị Anambra and Nigerians, release Part 2 of his article as soon as possible so that the public will know the truth and the truth will bring the days of internet bandits to an end. Indeed, history beckons and patriots will not be silent. It is time for ụmụ Igbo to think right.
